Growing up, I was a pretty poor eater... in fact, my hubby would say that I still am... My mum was 'old school,' in that everything was baked from scratch and nothing went to waste. There were no meal choices... meals were dished up and eaten... no questions. I remember coming in from school during the winter months with the kitchen windows steamed up from the pots bubbling away on the stove top... On asking what what was for dinner, my mum would reply, "Dinner"... to which I would respond "Dinner? What, dinner, dinner?"... you see, I hated 'Dinner' mid-week... dinner being 'meat and two veg'... When my mum would confirm that it was in fact 'Dinner, Dinner', my bottom lip would tremble and I would burst into tears... Can you imagine crying over meat and two veg? Ahhh, the troubles of an eight year old...
Anyhoo, when it was my birthday, my mum would cook an evening meal of my choice (no fancy eating out for me)... I had to wait a whole 365 days to chose the meal that I actually wanted, and it was always 'Blue Peter Special'... Now, what's this, I hear you ask? Well, to anyone not brought up in the 70's in the UK, Blue Peter was a kids show on the BBC... My mum felt that is was more educational than other children's television shows, and so, deemed it appropriate to watch... there were all sorts of craft segments (like making spaceships from washing-up liquid bottles) and a cooking segment... the poor hosts would cook live and would generally hash it up... burning or dropping something mid-scene...
Anyways, I would furtively scribble down the recipes and ask my mum if we could make them... some we did... most we didn't, but this recipe stuck... it's my go-to meal... my 'had a bad day' meal... 'I need comfort' meal... This recipe, as stood me in good stead, and still does to this day, being an all round family favourite... and, it's even better now that I don't have to wait until my birthday to eat it.
So, if you want a quick supper meal, give it a try (it tastes delicious with a dash of Worcestershire sauce)... It sure would make me smile to know that others are eating my birthday meal!
Here's to the start of a great week!
Lx
A Recipe for Blue Peter Special
Ingredients
2lb potatoes peeled & diced small (I usually use approx. 4 baking potatoes)
1 large onion (chopped)
4 tomatoes chopped
1 tablespoon flour
4oz cheese (you can use more if you like it cheesy like me)
salt & pepper
1 1/4 cup (300ml) of warm milk
2 tablespoons butter chopped into small cubes
4 teaspoons of chopped parsley (I add a little more)
Method
Preheat the oven to 375F and grease an ovenproof dish. Add the diced potatoes, chopped tomatoes, chopped onion, grated cheese, chopped parsley and flour, and mix together.
Pour the warm milk over the top. Season with salt and pepper.
Place the pieces of butter on top of the mixture.
Cover with foil and pop in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove foil and cook for a further 40 minutes or until the top has nicely browned and the potatoes are cooked through.
This dish tastes delicious with a dash of Worcestershire sauce and is great reheated for a bit of supper... Mmmmm....
